


Dirty Paws

by DragonFire026



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien finds a kitten, Adrien hides a kitten, F/M, Marinette gets caught in Adrien's mess, sowwwyyy Marinette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-23 21:19:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14341128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonFire026/pseuds/DragonFire026
Summary: In which Adrien finds a kitten, hides a kitten, and things happen.





	1. Kittens and Terrible Plans

In retrospect, taking the kitten home probably wasn’t a good idea. 

It had _felt_ like a good plan at the time—after all, the poor creature had been wandering around an empty alley on Adrien’s way home. It was lonely, frail, and covered in mud, and so he’d taken it home. 

He had a big room. He’d hide it somewhere, find some food around the house, give it a place to sleep…It was that simple. Right?

Except…it wasn’t. How could it be? How could he expect, even daydream, about anything less? His father wouldn’t allow it, his father would be furious, his father would…

_“Mew,”_

Adrien looked down at the tiny black kitten at his feet. Its tiny frame was haggard, fur matted and laced with jagged scars. It mewed again, plaintively, and he sighed. 

His father could never find out.

Which, he thought with a groan, was the biggest understatement of his entire life.

_“Mrrrow?”_

“Sorry, kitty,” he murmured, picking up the tiny feline. “Don’t think I’ll be able to keep you for very long.” 

He stroked its back and frowned, swallowing back the guilty lump that had lodged itself in his throat. He’d find an animal shelter or something for the kitten, a safe place for it. His father was out of town for a few days, and he’d have plenty of time, right? _Right?_

It was the right thing to do, the obedient thing, and he knew that, so why did it feel so wrong? Why was he so sad? He couldn’t actually…keep the cat, that was insane, not to mention disrespectful, and—

Rebellious. 

Maybe he could make it work, if…

“Nope,” he said out loud, shaking his head. “No way, Adrien, you idiot.” 

A soft purr jolted Adrien out of his thoughts and he looked down, wincing. The kitten had fallen asleep in his lap, and it was snoring, tiny chest rising and falling as it contentedly dozed. 

Gently, he placed the cat on the bed beside him. 

He didn’t want to give it up. There. He could acknowledge that much.

But how to keep it from his father? He couldn’t hide it in his room, that much was certain. The kitten was bound to make a mess at some point, and with school and akuma attacks to balance, there was no way Adrien could clean up after a pet every day. 

Ask Nathalie? No way. She told his father everything. There was no way he could trust her.

He couldn’t keep the cat here at all, which left no other options. 

Except for his classmates. 

Adrien lunged into a sitting position, the idea rippling through his mind like an electric shock. His classmates could take care of the cat, he knew they’d be willing. Heck, half of his class would probably _compete_ for the role of cat-sitter, just because it was _his_ cat. 

He rolled his eyes. No, he needed someone he could trust, someone who wasn’t already on his father’s radar. Which narrowed his classmates down to…

Marinette?

He knew without really dwelling on it that she’d say yes. She was kind like that, and genuinely cared about everyone, even if she was a little flighty. 

Standing up, he cradled the sleeping cat in his arms and tugged away his blanket with his other hand. “Plagg?” He frowned, tilting his head. The kwami was fast asleep. 

“Plagg,” he whispered again, irritated. There was no response. “Whatever. Plagg, claws out!” 

With a startled squeal, the kwami rushed upwards, disappearing as Adrien transformed. 

The kitten, jolted from sleep, took one look at Cat Noir’s mask and blinked lazily, unimpressed, before closing its eyes one more. 

Chuckling, Adrien opened his window and leapt, kitten safely in his arms, to the street below.


	2. Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a terrible plan gets worse, and Marinette has no idea what's going on.

He didn’t mean to scare the woman in the alley, it was just bad timing. Really, _really_ bad timing. 

He jumped to the cool, shaded space between the two apartment buildings and looked around, slumping against the wall as he checked to make sure that the kitten—it really needed a name, was he really going to keep calling it “kitten” all day?—was safe. 

It was.  
He took a breath, ready to detransform, and was seconds away from saying the magic words before someone gasped softly, sounding petrified. 

A quick glance to his left revealed the young woman standing a few feet away, and he mentally berated himself for not checking sooner. The woman was shaking, visibly terrified by his sudden appearance, and here he stood, right on the verge of revealing his identity to her, a total stranger. 

It was all he could do not to knock himself out right then and there. 

“I…” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, sheepishly running a hand through his hair. “But could you…ah…” 

“Oh!” The woman blinked. “You want me…yes! Of course, that’s why you dropped into an empty alley so late at night. Yes, I’ll leave, Chat Noir. Chat Noir wants me to leave!” She walked away mumbling, and Adrien watched her go. 

She probably thought she was insane now, and it was his fault. If she ended up in some mental health ward, it would be his fault, and-

_"Mrrow?"_

He shook his head, then peered around the corner, scanning the surrounding street—no one was there—before ducking deeper into the alley. 

A moment later, he turned onto the street, Plagg hidden safely away, and stood in front of the patisserie Marinette’s parents owned. 

He’d been here before, both as Chat Noir and Adrien, but even now the smell made him smile. A heavenly scent floated above the patisserie, full of warm bread and laced with something sugary sweet. He inhaled deeply before going in. 

A bell rang above him as he entered, and the kitten jolted against his chest. _“Mrrrrrow?”_

“Hush,” he told it, looking around for Marinette’s parents. “Hello? Anyone here?” 

“Adrien?” Came a startled squeak from somewhere beyond the bakery. “Here what doing you?” She reddened. “Uh,”

Adrien swallowed. “Where are your parents?” He asked. “Isn’t the bakery still open?” 

“Yes, well, no, not technically, but…” Marinette’s eyes widened. “I forgot to lock up! They told me to remember, they even set an extra _alarm_ -” Cutting off abruptly, she swerved around Adrien and ran towards the door.

He watched as she tripped and nearly fell to the floor—typical, just typical—but didn’t, saving herself in the nick of time, barely managing to latch onto the corner of the countertop. 

She stood there, her back to him, and after a few moments he slid past her, closing the door on his own. He turned to her, met her frantic expression with a soft smile, and held out the kitten. 

“Here.” 

Her trembling pout turned to a quavering smile. “You…got me a cat?” 

“Yes…no? Not technically…” He sighed. “I found it, wandering around some alley. I’d keep it, but my father…” 

“Right,” she nodded, tilting her head. Then her eyes widened. “So you- you brought it here? What do you want me to do with it?” 

“Keep it?” Adrien sighed. “I know it’s a lot to ask,” he said, “but I can pay for the food and stuff, I just can’t keep it…Marinette? Are you listening?” 

“What?” She blinked. “You want me to keep the cat?”

He nodded. “I can pay for food…”

“Well,” Marinette tilted her head, deep in thought. “My parents…” 

“Oh.” Adrien nodded, cradling the kitten in his arms. “It’s fine. I’ll find someone else-”

“What? No!” Marinette exclaimed, reaching forward. “Fine sure I’m- I’m sure it’ll be fine! I’ll ask my parents when they get home later.” 

Adrien grinned. 

“Let’s see,” Marinette dashed towards the cupboards, opening one up and rifling through the contents within. “What do kittens eat? Milk? Wait, that’s not really a food, is it? Do they eat actual food?” 

“Dunno, there’s gotta be something in here,” Adrien said, setting the kitten on the ground behind him. “Let’s see…” 

“Oh!” Marinette shouted. “Adrien, we forgot the most important part!”

“We did?” He blinked. “What?” 

Blue eyes brightened. “A name?” Marinette asked, wryly cocking her head to one side. 

“Oh.” Adrien frowned. “Well…” 

“You didn’t give it a name?” Marinette gasped. “Where did you say you found it, again?” 

“On…the street…” Adrien said, reddening slightly. He bent over, further into the cupboard. “Guess we’d better figure out a name, huh?” 

With a nod, Marinette hummed softly, then went back to rummaging. 

Had she noticed his hesitation? Probably not. She was scatterbrained on a good day, but today…

Chuckling, Adrien shoved aside a bag of flour. Marinette’s mind was somewhere else today, which was good for them both. 

But the important thing was, the kitten was safe, and so was he. He could do this, right? His father would never know, and Marinette’s parents would be fine with the whole thing. _Right?_

It would all work out. He was almost sure of it. 

...almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, people? Comment below with a name for our nameless little kitty! 
> 
> Writing this has been fun so far! I hope Marinette's in character...she's harder to write than I thought she'd be. 
> 
> Happy reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Should I make this a multi-chapter thing? I totally can (and want to) but I want to make sure someone out there actually wants to read this first...anyone up for kittens, secrets, and some fluff? 
> 
> Comment below and lemme know!


End file.
